Republicans who worked closely with Chris Christie’s former campaign manager say Bill Stepien is a world-class political operative, a numbers geek and ground-game guru who knows how to get the vote out.

“He came into our campaign in the summer of 2008 when we were at a low point and in a matter of weeks helped turn it around,” said Steve Schmidt, who directed John McCain’s presidential campaign. “He knows his craft. He has common sense, and he gets things done.”

But Stepien was also seen by some Republicans as abrasive, imperious and quick to act against party members he considered wayward.

Now he’s a central figure in the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal that threatens to scuttle Christie’s own presidential ambitions and hobble his second term. The governor cut ties with Stepien after documents came to light showing he exchanged emails with key players as they attempted to tamp down the firestorm ignited by the lane closures, claimed to have been ordered as an act of retribution.

Bill Stepien, left, leaving the State House with Governor Christie in January 2011.

They don’t show that Stepien had a role in the lane closures, but they do reveal that he was being advised about the controversy at the same time that he was running Christie’s reelection effort, a campaign that was pushing hard for endorsements of local Democrats to cement Christie’s platform of bipartisan consensus. They also show he was capable of tough language, at one point calling Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich an “idiot,” after the Democrat had sought to reverse the decision that had snarled the streets of his town in September.

East Rutherford Mayor James Cassella said Stepien, who once also served as the liaison to local officials within Christie’s administration, gave him the cold shoulder because the town had filed suit to collect tax money from the New York Giants training facility, built on state-owned land at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

Stepien also dressed down borough Councilman Joel Brizzi for being reluctant to join with Christie in supporting plans for the American Dream shopping and entertainment project, said Cassella, a Republican. He said Stepien even put the governor on the phone to scold Brizzi, who did not return calls seeking comment.

Cassella also questioned Christie’s now-abandoned choice of Stepien as the next leader of the state GOP. “The guy just came across as extremely arrogant,” said Cassella. “It was either his way or no way. I don’t see how he came to be considered a party builder, because I can tell you he wasn’t building the party in Bergen County anywhere I could see.”

GOP strategists in Trenton said the two incarnations of Stepien are not a contradiction. They said that political operations rely heavily on people who are willing to be the tough guy, capable and willing to play hardball.

“Every administration’s got one,” said one leading Republican who worked in the front office during the administrations of both Christie Whitman and Donald DiFrancesco. “Super talented, super smart, no doubt, a winner. But Bill had a well-deserved reputation for being the heavy and he alienated a lot of party members with his personality.”

The scandal is now the subject of multiple probes including an inquiry by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and twin investigations by special committees of the state Legislature.

Christie has denied any advance knowledge of the closures and said he fired Stepien, as well as Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly — the author of the now infamous “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” email — for showing “callous indifference” to New Jersey motorists caught up in an orchestrated traffic jam.

In a marathon press conference last week, Christie said ultimate responsibility for the Fort Lee fiasco lay with him. He also said it was impossible for him to keep track of the actions of 65,000 state employees.

He said he had lost confidence in Stepien’s judgment. “I was disturbed by the tone and behavior and attitude of callous indifference that was displayed in the emails by my former campaign manager, Bill Stepien,” Christie said.

Stepien could not be reached for comment.

In his roles with Christie, alternating between serving as a political adviser and senior staff member, Stepien was far from a low-level bureaucrat: A leading member of the governor’s inner circle, Stepien traveled with him on a trip to Israel and on political junkets across the country.

Before the scandal erupted, Christie had tabbed Stepien to be the new state GOP chairman as well as a special consultant to the Republican Governors Association, which the governor now heads. Stepien was also widely considered to be Christie’s choice to manage a possible presidential run in 2016.

Republicans say Stepien was the author of Christie’s signature “town meeting” strategy, a series of carefully orchestrated sessions across the state that played to Christie’s strengths as a straight-talking tough guy and problem solver, not to mention an endearing talent for stand-up comedy.

The Christie town meetings, which became a YouTube staple, reflected Stepien’s deep knowledge of Jersey demographics and voting patterns, Republicans said. Many of the meetings took place in swing districts that Stepien had concentrated on in 2009 and 2013 en route to significant Christie victories.

“Bill Stepien knows the craft of fieldwork better than anyone, he knows how to use technology and data to find possible voters,” said Schmidt.

Schmidt said Stepien’s off-color remarks captured in the lane-closure emails don’t appear to be that egregious.

“When you are running a political campaign you get 500 emails every day from people in the field. There are going to be some stupid remarks,” he said, adding that Stepien will most likely remain a sought-after political consultant despite the scandal.

“Bill was and will continue to be highly regarded by the people who run political campaigns,” Schmidt said.

Stepien, 35, is a 2000 Rutgers University graduate who began his political career even before leaving college, as a volunteer for Republican Anthony Bucco’s 1997 state Senate campaign. His first paying job in politics was as a driver in the 2000 U.S. Senate race for the late Bob Franks.

In that respect, Stepien followed in the footsteps of another young Republican involved in the lane-closure scandal — former Port Authority executive Bill Baroni, who earned his stripes as a chauffeur for Chuck Haytaian during his unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 1994.

By 2003, however, Stepien, as a protégé of GOP strategist Michael DuHaime, was running campaigns and was widely saluted for shepherding his party’s biggest win that year — Baroni’s win in a Mercer County state Assembly district heavy with Democrats.

Stepien’s star was rising fast. In 2004, he became New Hampshire political director for Bush-Cheney and later went to work for the Republican National Committee, directing the GOP’s vaunted “72-hour-campaign” to get out the vote.

It was in New Hampshire that Stepien first linked up as a team with DuHaime and Christie communications czar Maria Comella, another longtime member of the Christie brain trust. In 2007, the trio was together again working on the presidential campaign of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

By the time Stepien became McCain’s national field director in 2008, he had a national reputation for his ability to target voters and craft messages.

GOP sources interviewed by The Record this week said Christie’s choice of Stepien as campaign manager in 2009 was a no-brainer. Republicans in Trenton said DuHaime and Stepien had already perfected a form of political “moneyball,” crunching data to squeeze votes from unlikely precincts the same way Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane revolutionized the national pastime with no-name players.

Not only was Stepien a New Jersey native with deep knowledge of the state, he had a history of winning and was universally hailed for his work in Baroni’s upset victory.

Ten years after that campaign, both Stepien and Baroni are on the receiving end of subpoenas for their role in the scandal, and Christie will spend the weekend in Florida campaigning for Gov. Rick Scott without his political right arm.

Giuliani, in an interview this week, joined the chorus of Republicans praising Stepien’s political skills. But he reserved judgment on his role in the Christie scandal.

“I don’t know exactly what he did so I can't draw a conclusion about it,” Giuliani said. “He’s a good man and he's a decent man and whether he made a mistake or not, we'll find out.”

Bill Stepien, left, leaving the State House with Governor Christie in January 2011.

By JEFF PILLETS and MELISSA HAYES

STAFF WRITERS |

The Record

Republicans who worked closely with Chris Christie’s former campaign manager say Bill Stepien is a world-class political operative, a numbers geek and ground-game guru who knows how to get the vote out.

“He came into our campaign in the summer of 2008 when we were at a low point and in a matter of weeks helped turn it around,” said Steve Schmidt, who directed John McCain’s presidential campaign. “He knows his craft. He has common sense, and he gets things done.”

But Stepien was also seen by some Republicans as abrasive, imperious and quick to act against party members he considered wayward.

Now he’s a central figure in the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal that threatens to scuttle Christie’s own presidential ambitions and hobble his second term. The governor cut ties with Stepien after documents came to light showing he exchanged emails with key players as they attempted to tamp down the firestorm ignited by the lane closures, claimed to have been ordered as an act of retribution.

They don’t show that Stepien had a role in the lane closures, but they do reveal that he was being advised about the controversy at the same time that he was running Christie’s reelection effort, a campaign that was pushing hard for endorsements of local Democrats to cement Christie’s platform of bipartisan consensus. They also show he was capable of tough language, at one point calling Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich an “idiot,” after the Democrat had sought to reverse the decision that had snarled the streets of his town in September.

East Rutherford Mayor James Cassella said Stepien, who once also served as the liaison to local officials within Christie’s administration, gave him the cold shoulder because the town had filed suit to collect tax money from the New York Giants training facility, built on state-owned land at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

Stepien also dressed down borough Councilman Joel Brizzi for being reluctant to join with Christie in supporting plans for the American Dream shopping and entertainment project, said Cassella, a Republican. He said Stepien even put the governor on the phone to scold Brizzi, who did not return calls seeking comment.

Cassella also questioned Christie’s now-abandoned choice of Stepien as the next leader of the state GOP. “The guy just came across as extremely arrogant,” said Cassella. “It was either his way or no way. I don’t see how he came to be considered a party builder, because I can tell you he wasn’t building the party in Bergen County anywhere I could see.”

GOP strategists in Trenton said the two incarnations of Stepien are not a contradiction. They said that political operations rely heavily on people who are willing to be the tough guy, capable and willing to play hardball.

“Every administration’s got one,” said one leading Republican who worked in the front office during the administrations of both Christie Whitman and Donald DiFrancesco. “Super talented, super smart, no doubt, a winner. But Bill had a well-deserved reputation for being the heavy and he alienated a lot of party members with his personality.”

The scandal is now the subject of multiple probes including an inquiry by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and twin investigations by special committees of the state Legislature.

Christie has denied any advance knowledge of the closures and said he fired Stepien, as well as Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly — the author of the now infamous “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” email — for showing “callous indifference” to New Jersey motorists caught up in an orchestrated traffic jam.

In a marathon press conference last week, Christie said ultimate responsibility for the Fort Lee fiasco lay with him. He also said it was impossible for him to keep track of the actions of 65,000 state employees.

He said he had lost confidence in Stepien’s judgment. “I was disturbed by the tone and behavior and attitude of callous indifference that was displayed in the emails by my former campaign manager, Bill Stepien,” Christie said.

Stepien could not be reached for comment.

In his roles with Christie, alternating between serving as a political adviser and senior staff member, Stepien was far from a low-level bureaucrat: A leading member of the governor’s inner circle, Stepien traveled with him on a trip to Israel and on political junkets across the country.

Before the scandal erupted, Christie had tabbed Stepien to be the new state GOP chairman as well as a special consultant to the Republican Governors Association, which the governor now heads. Stepien was also widely considered to be Christie’s choice to manage a possible presidential run in 2016.

Republicans say Stepien was the author of Christie’s signature “town meeting” strategy, a series of carefully orchestrated sessions across the state that played to Christie’s strengths as a straight-talking tough guy and problem solver, not to mention an endearing talent for stand-up comedy.

The Christie town meetings, which became a YouTube staple, reflected Stepien’s deep knowledge of Jersey demographics and voting patterns, Republicans said. Many of the meetings took place in swing districts that Stepien had concentrated on in 2009 and 2013 en route to significant Christie victories.

“Bill Stepien knows the craft of fieldwork better than anyone, he knows how to use technology and data to find possible voters,” said Schmidt.

Schmidt said Stepien’s off-color remarks captured in the lane-closure emails don’t appear to be that egregious.

“When you are running a political campaign you get 500 emails every day from people in the field. There are going to be some stupid remarks,” he said, adding that Stepien will most likely remain a sought-after political consultant despite the scandal.

“Bill was and will continue to be highly regarded by the people who run political campaigns,” Schmidt said.

Stepien, 35, is a 2000 Rutgers University graduate who began his political career even before leaving college, as a volunteer for Republican Anthony Bucco’s 1997 state Senate campaign. His first paying job in politics was as a driver in the 2000 U.S. Senate race for the late Bob Franks.

In that respect, Stepien followed in the footsteps of another young Republican involved in the lane-closure scandal — former Port Authority executive Bill Baroni, who earned his stripes as a chauffeur for Chuck Haytaian during his unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 1994.

By 2003, however, Stepien, as a protégé of GOP strategist Michael DuHaime, was running campaigns and was widely saluted for shepherding his party’s biggest win that year — Baroni’s win in a Mercer County state Assembly district heavy with Democrats.

Stepien’s star was rising fast. In 2004, he became New Hampshire political director for Bush-Cheney and later went to work for the Republican National Committee, directing the GOP’s vaunted “72-hour-campaign” to get out the vote.

It was in New Hampshire that Stepien first linked up as a team with DuHaime and Christie communications czar Maria Comella, another longtime member of the Christie brain trust. In 2007, the trio was together again working on the presidential campaign of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

By the time Stepien became McCain’s national field director in 2008, he had a national reputation for his ability to target voters and craft messages.

GOP sources interviewed by The Record this week said Christie’s choice of Stepien as campaign manager in 2009 was a no-brainer. Republicans in Trenton said DuHaime and Stepien had already perfected a form of political “moneyball,” crunching data to squeeze votes from unlikely precincts the same way Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane revolutionized the national pastime with no-name players.

Not only was Stepien a New Jersey native with deep knowledge of the state, he had a history of winning and was universally hailed for his work in Baroni’s upset victory.

Ten years after that campaign, both Stepien and Baroni are on the receiving end of subpoenas for their role in the scandal, and Christie will spend the weekend in Florida campaigning for Gov. Rick Scott without his political right arm.

Giuliani, in an interview this week, joined the chorus of Republicans praising Stepien’s political skills. But he reserved judgment on his role in the Christie scandal.

“I don’t know exactly what he did so I can't draw a conclusion about it,” Giuliani said. “He’s a good man and he's a decent man and whether he made a mistake or not, we'll find out.”